History Is Not the Past

Weeksville: a settlement of black landowners formed in the 1830s. Black families bought property in the Bedford Hills along the Long Island Railroad outside Brooklyn, subdivided it, and sold to other black families. The settlement featured “a fine, tasteful schoolhouse” and several churches. Like many black settlements across the country, Weeksville was absorbed around the 1890s by its neighbors — first by Brooklyn, then by the city of New York.

Learn more about the preserved Hunterfly Road Houses and the Weeksville Heritage Center here.

I’m a historian working on a set of research projects about race, real estate, and inter-generational family wealth. I’m not employed by the Heritage Center but I keep in touch with the staff; we collaborate when possible.